Spanning the State: Warm up your DVR edition
Carla Axtman
I'm a big fan of the TV show Fringe, which is kind of odd, since I was never really in to the "X-Files" and I understand the shows have a lot of similar themes. What seems to draw me into Fringe are the characters: people whose lives have been changed and manipulated in fundamental ways due to outside forces generally out of their control. The story lines are interesting and compelling--but its the ongoing struggles of the characters that keep me watching each week.
Currently, the show is straddling two parallel universes, each universe with parallel characters from the show. It's fascinating to see the personalities of the same character, raised in different universes with different experiences..but with similar vulnerabilities. Definitely worth your time to watch and more than worth the DVR space.
And now, let's span the state!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::gong!:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Senator Wyden's campaign team has an effective new ad, highlighting Wyden's efforts to go after Halliburton and no-bid contracts. Check it out:
District Attorney of Umatilla County Dean Gushwa stepped down a couple of weeks ago after accusations of his involvement with a sex crime. What's interesting to me here isn't that the DA is accused, especially since no indictment has yet come down. It's that the DA appears not to have full confidence in the system in which he works. When interviewed about the accusations, Gushwa stated, I will say I'm confident the truth will come out," he said. "If the system works, I will be fine." Wow. "If"? If a District Attorney feels the need for a qualifying statement, what happens to other accused folks in our system? Yikes.
The revelation that the Oregon GOP was using Dennis Oliver Woods as their pollster came down this last week. Woods appears to have whacknutter views on everything from slavery to women to the death penalty for being gay. What's bothersome about this story is that pollsters are often not just number crunchers, they're actually often used as close advisors. This story was discussed over at Willamette Week, with heavy excerpting of the pollster's whacknutter views from his blog. The blog has been taken down, but some clever person managed to capture it before it was deleted. If you've got the stomach for it, knock yourself out.
Grande Foods (previously Hank's Thriftway) has been part of the town of Cornelius for almost 75 years. They were the locally owned grocer--part of the essence of the Cornelius area. The story has struggled in recent years--but held on even while the owners quit taking a salary. But the final blow came in August with the opening of a new Cornelius Wal-Mart. Ugh. Another small, locally-owned business bites the dust in favor of big box.
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5:55 p.m.
Sep 26, '10
[This off-topic comment has been removed. Please discuss the governor's race on posts about the governor's race. -editor.]
6:37 p.m.
Sep 26, '10
[Response to off-topic comment also removed. -editor.]
Btw, there are tons of other threads here for the Oregon governor's race. I'd appreciate it if you'd not hijack one that isn't about that. Such as this one, for example.
8:11 p.m.
Sep 26, '10
[This off-topic comment has been removed. Please discuss the governor's race on posts about the governor's race. -editor.]
9:48 a.m.
Sep 27, '10
Maybe BO needs to put up a once a week free post area so that it's readers can discuss certain items that the editors don't really want to talk about ;)
1:51 p.m.
Sep 27, '10
Given that there are oodles of threads on the issue that you're commenting about on this blog--it would seem like an odd complaint.
6:22 p.m.
Sep 27, '10
It got deleted again on another thread where the author specifically mentions the issue in regards to Dudley. Even though the author wants the story to be about Bruun, they brought up the issue.
Carla,
Given that the issue is on WWeek, please let me know what thread it would be appropriate. Thanks.
6:40 p.m.
Sep 27, '10
Forget it. I will drop it. No point in distracting from the dudley bashing.
2:41 p.m.
Sep 28, '10
I'd suggest one of the ones that start with Or-Gov. There's a crap ton of them.
7:36 a.m.
Sep 27, '10
RE:Hanks and Grande Foods
The decline started many years ago with the Fred Meyer center opening in Cornelius. Fred Meyer, once a local, home grown business, is the more likely one to blame on this one.
A few years ago, Hanks tried to remake itself into a grocer specializing in foods preferred by the local Hispanic community, but there simply was not enough business to keep Grande Foods sustainable, and more importantly, profitable.
9:46 a.m.
Sep 27, '10
Perhaps if you'd had a crush on Scully like the rest of us....
1:23 p.m.
Sep 27, '10
Progressive Oregonians ought to vote for Bruce Cronk for Wyden's seat:
workingfamiliesforbrucecronk.org
Word from a JwJ tabler at the Labor Day picnic was that Wyden, confronted at a town hall with the question as to whether he will, finally, admit error for all his years of support of corporate "free-trade" answered, "I'm just too tired...I have to go." (The eyewitness account which was told to me said that Wyden's evasion of the question was that blatant and pitiful).
And, yeah, Mr. Wyden- save us some money: start with Hosni Mubarak's $3 bil. annual allowance!
3:39 p.m.
Sep 27, '10
Why should a progressive throw their vote away and possibly allow a right-wing ideologue like Huffman to get elected by voting third party?
11:14 a.m.
Sep 29, '10
Mitchell, there comes a point when I ask myself if a politician's negatives outweigh his or her positives. I say Wyden is well on the negative side of the ledger.
A history of support of corporate "free-trade"
Not only advocacy for Israeli government policies (as about 80% of the U.S. Congress does), but Wyden sits on the board of The Israel Project- Wyden actually advises AIPAC on how best to distort the situation in Israel/Palestine. And, if we want to actually save some defense/national security money (lots of it, possibly), I'd say a turn toward justice in Israel/Palestine would help immensely. Wyden leads us in the opposite direction.
Wyden's health plan was terrible. Its initial drafts called for elimination of public insurance.
Sure, Wyden's good on some issues- protecting natural areas, gay/lesbian rights- but on the "meat & potatoes" issues, he's not even liberal. He could be Ron Wyden (R-NY), on some of these issues.